102 A HANDBOOK OF CONIFER.E 



reddish down. Winter buds small, broadly ovoid or globe-shaped, 

 resinous. Leaves arranged like those of A. balsamea, but shorter, 

 rarely more than f in. long, rounded and notched at the apex ; 

 the upper surface dark green, shining ; the lower surface with two 

 broad white bands of stomata ; resin canals median. Cones 

 ovoid, cylindrical, about 2 in. long by 1^ in. wide, purple; scales 

 like those of A. balsamea but with the bracts protruding and 

 reflexed. Seed with a wing about half an inch long. 



This fir may always be known from its near ally A. balsamea 

 by the dense reddish down on the young shoots and the shorter 

 and comparatively broader leaves which are whiter beneath. 

 It is constantly confused with A. balsamea in nurseries. 



A. Fraseri, named after its discoverer, John Fra er (1750- 

 1811), a keen collector of N. American plants, has a very local 

 distribution in N. America, being found wild only on the Alleghany 

 Mountains in S.W. Virginia, N. Carolina, and E. Tennessee, 

 where it forms forests at 4,000-6,000 ft. elevation. It was first 

 cultivated in this country in 1811. 



Wood light, soft, rather weak, whitish, works with a fine 

 surface, heartwood not well marked. Very little used for lumber 

 on account of the inaccessibility of the trees, but the timber is 

 suitable for indoor finish of houses and for boxes. As is the case 

 with ^. balsamea, the fragrant branches are popular with travellers 

 for beds. 



A. Fraseri does not succeed very well in the British Isles, and 

 well-developed specimens are rarely seen. The moist valleys of 

 Wales and Scotland appear to afford more suitable conditions 

 than the drier parts of England. 



Two trees at Colesborne planted in 1897 were 15 ft. high in 

 1917. One was coning freely in an experimental plantation (very 

 subject to late frosts) 500 ft. above sea-level, on Midford sand. 



Abies grandis, Lindley. (Fig. 18.) 

 Giant Fir. 



Abies amabilis, A. Murray [not Forbes] ; A. Gordoniana, Carriere ; 

 A. lasiocarpa, LincUey and Gordon [not Hooker] ; Picea grandis, Loudon ; 

 Pinus grandis, Douglas. 



Grand Fir ; Great Silver Fir ; Oregon Fir ; Silver Fir ; Western White 

 Fir; White Fir. 



A tall tree, occasionally reaching a height of 300 ft. and a 

 girth of 16 ft. Bark smooth in young trees with many resin blis- 

 ters, becoming dark brown, fissured and scaly in old trees. Young 

 shoots smooth, olive-green, minutely hairy. Winter buds small, 

 conical, blunt, resinous. Foliage aromatic when bruised. Leaves 

 horizontally arranged, spreading to right and left, those on the 

 upper side of the shoot much shorter than those on the lower 

 side, flattened, l|-2 in. long, A-iV in. wide, notched at the apex, 

 upper surface dark shining green, grooved, under surface with 



